Series:Horror Story

HOTEL HAUNTINGS

I have always known that I have a “third eye.” I can tell and feel when a certain place is haunted… Either through unusual feelings of extreme cold on very hot days, or by virtue of dizzy spells or headaches - right at the very moment I enter a spooked place.

This story is definitely not a product of my imagination, although I have heard numerous ghost stories that took place within the area.

I studied for 17 years at a prestigious exclusive girls’ school in the Philippines - from nursery up to 4th Year College. In all my years of studying, I don’t remember encountering any supernatural stuff, although I occasionally felt a chill whenever I entered any of its comfort rooms.

When I decided to leave my stable job as a bank officer, I finally shifted to the career I always wanted - a writing job at a television network. However, most television shows have a very short shelf life, and after my show was axed, I found myself jobless - and desperate. It was, however, at this point that I got an offer from my former school to work as their media officer - a job which I thought would help me stay in touch with my friends in the broadcasting industry, and at the same time, help me get over this lull in my TV career.

I find it very difficult to write good articles when there is so much noise around me. I had the misfortune of sharing an office with another manager and her two secretaries who were noisy and loud almost all-day long. For fear of not producing the stories I had to submit, I would purposely stay after office hours, and enjoy writing in peace - sometimes until 12 midnight. Being the media officer, I had a small television which I kept on, just to keep me company as I pounded on my keypad.

My desktop computer is against a window along the main driveway of the school. Of course, since it’s way past school hours, the driveway is deserted, safe for a few pedestrians who use a nearby bridge from an adjoining exclusive boys’ school to get to the main road where public transportation is more accessible.

I would occasionally see groups of laughing students, sometimes priests passing by, and this is normal. However, I got unusual chills one night when I noticed a woman passing by. She was very pretty, with long hair, and she was moving at a very steady pace - not even looking around to observe the sights and sounds around the school. As I gave her a second and third glance, I noticed that her feet were not touching the pavement! She was floating on air! Jeez, I immediately picked up the telephone and called for the school guards, and when they came, sure enough, they were no longer surprised. It seems that this lady is a constant visitor of the school.

On one other night, again, I noticed a vertically-challenged olive-skinned man pass by. Nothing unusual, in my opinion… But I noticed that he was wearing an unusual pin-striped suit, one with a long coat tail, similar to those worn by men in the early 1900’s. He was wearing a top hat, too - very unusual, because hats are not too popular in this country… A top hat, at that. When I stood up to stare at him, he turned his head and smiled at me… And disappeared!

One would think that these experiences would be enough to make me quit my job, but I guess the best one was still in store for me…

I vowed not to face the cursed window at night, ever! So I purchased my own laptop and worked on my table, this time unmindful of the spooky passersby who always distracted me from writing the things I needed to finish. Hard at work, I began to hear noises from my fellow manager’s cubicle. I decided to ignore them, thinking that there may be some unruly students practicing until late at night at the nearby hallway.

It was really hard to ignore the noises so I stood up to check on what might be causing them. Imagine my horror when I saw 4 computer swivel chairs moving around on their own! I screamed so hard and ran out of my office barefoot. Apparently my scream alerted the school’s roving guards and they ran to my office to find out what happened. As I struggled to tell my story, I was scared they’ll think that this “respected” school administrator was crazy! They never found the story ridiculous. As it turns out, very similar incidents have taken place on numerous occasions already all over campus.

Safe to say, after submitting a 30-day notice, I resigned from my post. But would you still believe me if I told you that some of these spirits “followed” me home?…